The Magna Carta was not quite a grand demand for equality, freedoms and rule of law but just a narrow demand for restricting the ruler's powers to ring fence the interests of the elite. But its consequences greatly expanded over the centuries into a charter, which guarantees individual liberties, equality and justice to all, irrespective of race, religion and class, says Mohan Guruswamy.
'I felt like a used and discarded rag.' 'The pro-dialogue constituency has shrunk in the valley.' Academician and author Dr Radha Kumar was among the three interlocutors which the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government appointed on Kashmir in October 2010, speaks of how the panel report was never acted upon.
Narendra Modi's success at the BRICS summit is the best Diwali gift for India's diplomacy and marks her ascendancy to global leadership, says Tarun Vijay.
'Big countries do not agree on every set of issues.' 'Look, one of the differences in the relationship is that when we do not agree, we are sitting down and talking to each other.'
'It is for the first time the voices of the most deferred, the most neglected, the most ignored, the most abused, the most vulnerable - the children-- has been heard. It is a great moment.' 'I always wanted Pakistan and India to have good relationships because I believe that this is very important for the development of both the countries.' 'If children are taught hatred, if they are taught about sectarianism and prejudice, then we can see that there will be terrorism in society." Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai were given an ovation after they delivered their rousing speeches in front of a packed audience at a glittering ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday. A day later, they sit down for an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour and share their dreams, their hopes for the future. Read excerpts from the interview.
They are shaken by the mass molestation in the city on New Year's Eve. But they are not waiting to be rescued. Nikita Puri reports.
Making the announcement, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan tweeted: 'The Union government has made arrangements to allow Jallikattu in TN.'
Indrani was cheering Pasbola on from the back, with little, happy whoops, that she muffled with her chunni. Indrani was in her element on Friday. The defence's cross-examination was clearly going her way and Indrani was delighted.
'The answer is no, the entire country's is.' 'So why such obsession with Delhi?' 'But the most powerful people in India live here: The prime minister, civil servants, Supreme Court judges, MPs, diplomats, dadas of the media...' 'If they can't deal with their own problem, what chance does the rest of the country have, with its foul air, dying rivers, frothing lakes, and crumbling mountains?' says Shekhar Gupta.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
United States President Barack Obama said goodbye to his nation in an emotional address enriched with wisdom and optimism.
'Outsiders are the ones who have to make the biggest journey to realise themselves, to come back to some sense of normality.' Director Jacques Audiard and actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan discuss the human landscape behind the award-winning film, Dheepan, with Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
'The protests have forced the government to announce that the NRC is not an immediate priority.' 'Even if they are trying to pursue this policy in a different guise, through the NPR, the fact that they have been forced to pause and backtrack at least temporarily shows the positive impact of the protests.' 'Moreover, various state governments have opposed the NPR which cannot be carried out without their cooperation. That is also a success of the protests.' 'The state governments would not have taken this stance against the central government if their hand had not been forced by the popular mood.'
It was in 1989, 39 years after the setting up of the Supreme Court in 1950, that Justice M Fathima Beevi was appointed. Meet the brilliant legal minds who have shattered the glass ceiling since then.
'We need to be in a perpetual state of aggression, and able to swiftly change the goal posts to keep Pakistan in a state of imbalance,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
'Is it a crime to be inspired by the Left ideology? Why can't I read a book on Marxist philosophy? Is it banned in India?'
'There has definitely been a breakthrough in the nuclear logjam. It is good to see nuclear energy back on the rails,' says Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.
For 'a person who has dedicated his life to teaching students, guiding them to restoring monuments and preserving our built heritage, I never dreamt that my home will one day be demolished.'
'Unlike Trump, who has an isolationist approach, Bolton would like to roam around the world, trampling upon any sign of dissent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'With any luck and a certain amount of rationality, we should be able to survive,' historian Antony Beevor tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya. 'We should learn that genocides and elimination of minorities achieve nothing and only sets a nation back. If we don't learn from our mistakes, then humanity doesn't deserve a chance to survive.'
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.
'More than 1,000 start-ups are created from colleges, and more start-ups are coming up every year.'
The National Rifle Association aims to shoot down Vivek Murthy's Senate confirmation as United States Surgeon General, Aziz Haniffa reports
At a crowded beachfront mass, Pope Francis canonised Sri Lanka's first saint on Wednesday.
The plan of UID/Aadhaar-based surveillance does not end with the collection of fingerprints and iris scan, it goes quite beyond it and poses a lethal threat to the idea of India, says Gopal Krishna.
Shivade: "You didn't find any brain inside the brain cavity?" Dr Thakur nodded. The judge shocked: "Huh?!"
President Pranab Mukherjee talked extensively about the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and the role of lawmakers during his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day.
'What will work is not fear of the law, but of real and swift prosecution under the law.' 'That can now be a possibility thanks to the Supreme Court judgment.'
Defiant Thai protesters on Thursday cut power supply to the national police headquarters, ignoring a plea by beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to end their anti-government rallies and negotiate after she emerged unscathed from a no-confidence debate.
It is often alleged that half the Indian Army is based in J&K. It is bewildering why there has been no rebuttal or clarification of this issue from the central or state governments, or from the army itself, wonders Ajai Shukla.
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on a one-day visit to India, said he was open to meeting all elected leaders including Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Cameron explained why he was not meeting Modi during this visit.
He's promoting khadi through his swadesi clothing brand.
'Soon enough, we were out shouted. The journalist had a multiple agenda -- he berated the Government, the bureaucracy in general and the UPSC system that selected them.'
Devanik Saha wonders if saffronisation of India is on the rise
Meet Sabriye Tenberken, a German woman who is changing lives in India.
Addressing the plenary session of the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit here in the Mongolian capital, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, "all our societies today face unprecedented levels of threat from terrorism in all its manifestations. The most recent example is what has happened, most unfortunately in France."
Prohibitory orders were imposed in Delhi and parts of Karnataka. Police kept tight vigil in Kerala. In Gujarat, 50 people were arrested for Thursday's violence.
'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy.' 'She packed Parliament with her supporters with loyalty being more important than ability; she superseded judges; she corrupted the civil service.' 'She knew how to use people against each other and was quite a master of that.' 'She would do this with calculated skill and in the bargain cause enmity between brothers, split up families.'
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